


Africa

by 2_for_a_penny



Series: Newsies Short Fics [5]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 16:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15222890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2_for_a_penny/pseuds/2_for_a_penny
Summary: There are stories. Thousands of stories that talk about soulmates. People coming up with ideas of worlds where you know when you meet your soulmate. Having marks where they touch you for the first time, their name being written on your wrists, watches that count down to the second that you meet them. People have fantasized about the perfect ways to know for sure, when you have met your soulmate. Sadly, Davey doesn’t live in a world where it is that easy.





	Africa

**Author's Note:**

> So I feel like this is kind of a mess. I wrote this over the course of a month, so it definitely isn't the smoothest thing, but I needed this to exist, and I love the ending and my boys so...Enjoy!

There are stories. Thousands of stories that talk about soulmates. People coming up with ideas of worlds where you know when you meet your soulmate. Having marks where they touch you for the first time, their name being written on your wrists, watches that count down to the second that you meet them. People have fantasized about the perfect ways to know for sure, when you have met your soulmate. Sadly, Davey doesn’t live in a world where it is that easy. 

Having a physical mark of some sort would be incredible. He would just look down and see his soulmates name, he would notice when they touched him, or he could see the seconds on his watch wind down until they hit zero, and he would look up into his soulmate’s eyes. 

But life doesn’t work like that. He lives in a world where soulmates do exist. Everyone waits for the day that they find their perfect partner. However, it is not a mark that tells you who the person is. In Davey’s world, you and your soulmate are connected almost telepathically. Not in the, you can hear their entire internal dialogue at all times sort of telepathic. It is just a small connection. Music.

When your soulmate sings, no matter where they are in the world, the song plays in your head. You don’t hear it if you are with them, but as soon as you can no longer hear their voice, the song starts. It isn’t the full song on repeat, just the small snippets that they sing are stuck in your head. This may seem cute in theory. No matter where you are in the world, you can basically sing a song to your partner. However, it can actually be catastrophic. Like right this minute. 

Davey was in English class, attempting to take a test on Shakespeare. He was staring intensely at Hamlet, trying to grasp the hidden meaning his teacher thought was so obvious, but he couldn’t focus. He was reading. His eyes were scanning the words again and again, but his brain absorbed nothing. This was because apparently his dumb soulmate thought that this would be a great time to start singing Africa by Toto. They weren’t even singing the whole song. Just the dumb intro over and over again. So as he was trying to absorb the intricacy of the literature in front of him, the only thought in his mind was “Do do do do do do doo baaaa dananana nananananana!”

Davey finally just quietly slammed his head onto the desk. Suddenly, after thirty minutes of Africa torture, the song stopped. A miracle if there ever was such a thing. Davey glanced at the clock. The singing had left him twenty minutes to finish his test. He was screwed. He made a mental note, that whenever he found his soulmate, to kill them. Slowly. While singing Africa. 

The class ended as Davey rushed to finish and turn in his test. He did the best he could under the circumstances, but he felt like he probably failed. Figures. His mom was going to kill him.

English was his last class of the day, so he headed towards the locker rooms to get ready for practice. He was a runner, cross country and track. Davey had never been good at contact sports. His dad tried his hardest to get him into football and wrestling, but neither had been successful. His hand eye coordination was also quite poor, so that ruled out anything with a ball. So here he was, one of the fastest guys on the varsity running teams. It was cross country season, so he got to run long distances and talk with his friends. Davey secretly like cross country more, it was more of a relaxed practice, and felt less competitive most of the time.

 

Davey strolled into the locker room with his stuff. When he entered he noticed the sheer stupidity of the male gender. There were boys whipping each other with towels, some were climbing to the top of the lockers, then another ran past him chasing his friend yelling about getting his pants back. Davey laughed to himself as he set down his stuff next to his friend Elmer.

“Hey Dave! How was English, that test was killer right?” Elmer questioned Davey as he leaned down the tie his shoe. 

Davey groaned. “Don’t get me started. I love classical literature and all, but when is Mrs. Shaw going to realize, not everything has a hidden meaning? Sometimes, someone just dies! No symbolism, just death!” He complained while pulling his clothes out of his bag. 

Elmer laughed at the boy’s complaints as he reached for his other shoe. “It really wasn’t that bad Dave. Sure it could have been easier but that woman has made worse tests.”

“I guess it wasn’t that hard, but I was distracted the whole time. My stupid soulmate was singing Africa for thirty minutes!” Davey practically yelled to his friend. “I could only concentrate on the test for about twenty minutes before it was over.”

Elmer giggled at his friend’s revelation. “Africa? Nice choice. Which part? The chorus? Or the whole thing over and over?”

Davey gave his friend a death glare. “Just the intro.”

Elmer’s face lit up as he punched one fist into the air. “Your soulmate is awesome Davey. She is probably like, the coolest person ever. Why can’t she be my soulmate?” He laughed as he turned to put his things into his locker.

Davey was unfolding his shirt to put on, when he looked up. His breath hitched as he could see from across the room. Jack Kelly. He had his arms raised above his head as he pulled off his fitting t-shirt. His abs slowly becoming more visible as the shirt was raised higher up. Davey had stopped everything he was doing and was staring right at him. 

Jack’s face lit up from a comment his friend said, as he finally fully removed the shirt from his torso. He threw the garment down onto the bench and looked up. His eyes met Davey’s and he gave him a small smirk before turning back to his locker. 

“Yeah. She.” Davey whispered so Elmer couldn’t hear. 

Davey didn’t think he was gay. At least, he had never found any guy that he wanted to have a romantic relationship with. He always thought of guys as his friends. However, he never felt any of those feelings towards any girl before either. Sure he thought girls were pretty, or he noticed how fit a guy was, but he never felt that connection with a person. At least not until Jack. 

Jack Kelly was inexplicable to Davey. The boy had moved to his school the prior year, and Davey hadn’t been the same since. He hadn’t noticed Jack when he first showed up. It wasn’t until track season that he discovered the boy. It was the first day of training and he walked into the locker room, similar to today, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the boy in the corner. He was tan, and strong looking. He had dark hair that fell to his eyebrows, and bright eyes. He was laughing at something, and his lips opened into a huge beautiful grin. Davey thought he could literally feel his heart stop for a second. 

After that, Davey and Jack had become friends. They didn’t talk all the time or anything like that, but they were friendly, and they would chat while on runs. Davey enjoyed Jack as a person, but he always felt secretly awkward because of the way Jack acted around him. Jack was very flirty, and touchy. Not in a way that made Davey uncomfortable, but just simple pats on the back or nudges to his shoulders. Maybe even a quick ruffling of Davey’s hair. Jack would just make a joke out of it, but Davey’s blush never failed to appear, bright red, on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. No one else ever made Davey blush like that. No one else’s quick touches made Davey feel a spark. But, there was no way Jack was meant for him.

Sure, from what he had gathered, his soulmate had a sense of humor similar to Jack’s, but it couldn’t be him. So, Davey just pushed the sparks down, and hid the blushes in his palms. He didn’t want for Jack to ever feel uncomfortable with Davey, so he acted like the friend he should be. No matter how much it killed him on the inside. 

Davey snapped out of his thoughts when the very boy of his thoughts, approached him. “Hey Davey.” Davey’s eyes snapped up quickly to meet the eyes of the boy. 

“Hey.” He responded as evenly as he could. His heart was beating faster than it should have been in that moment. He was just talking to him for god’s sake.

If there had been any shake to his voice, Jack didn’t notice as he continued with the conversation. “You want to run up to the park today? I’m feeling a longer run, need to get my head away from school you know?” He smiled as he gave Davey a chance to respond.

“Yeah, sure.” He turned back to tell Elmer, but he had already left without Davey noticing. “I guess Elmer isn’t joining.”

Jack let out a short laugh. “No, he’s already tracking down Albert. Probably so they can make out behind a tree half way through the run.” Jack mused. 

Davey smiled at the joke and closed his locker to join Jack. “I’m surprised coach hasn’t made them run seperate. They rarely ever actually do the work out.” Davey commented as the strolled out of the locker room. 

Jack nodded in agreement as he began to lightly run. Davey caught up in two strides and the pair continued in easy silence as they headed toward the park.

They reached the destination after 3 miles. Davey ran forward to the bench under a gazebo off the main path. Jack joined him, panting heavily and sweat dripping down the sides of his face. Coating his hair and bare chest. He had chosen to exempt the shirt, which Davey was not complaining about.

Jack closed his eyes and tilted his head back, attempting to catch his breath. Davey found himself staring at his face. His brows were pulled together and were accompanied by a small frown as the boy struggled to regain his composure. Davey’s eyes scanned over the different features of the boy before him. His closed eyes, nose that turned up ever so slightly, strong jaw with a slight shadow, pink lips tugging downward from the frown. The boy in front of him was truly gorgeous.

Jack let out a sharp exhale, causing Davey’s eye to find his again.

“Well, I thought I wanted a long run today, but damn. That wasn’t even that far.” He breathed in frustration but also humorously. Davey nodded in agreement, but remained silent. Glancing down at his shoes as he sighed. Jack looked at Davey. He saw him all of the time, but for some reason, this felt different. He felt like he was really seeing the boy. His dark hair drenched in sweat on his forehead, his strong nose, and his piercing green eyes. Jack thought he was, beautiful. He shook his head and stared at the ground like Davey. 

000

Davey got into his car after his run with Jack. He shoved his stuff into the back seat and laid his head on the steering wheel, closing his eyes. All he could see was Jack when he did. He groaned in frustration and hit the radio button with a slam. The song that began playing was some trashy pop song that Davey had no interest in. He stared at the radio until he finally, and reluctantly, pulled out his phone to play his own music. He let out a short laugh as he clicked the song and pulled out of the parking lot. The only sounds were his engine, and the intro to Africa beating through his speakers. 

000

Jack was pulling into his driveway when the sound of Africa started to ring through his head. He smiled. Whoever his soulmate was, they were going to get along very well. 

000

English class was surprisingly quiet for Davey. He was able to actually focus on the classical piece in front of him instead of a dumb 80’s song. As much as he should have enjoyed the silence, it felt sort of...empty. The constant noise had become a sort of background noise for him. He began to frown as he stared at the book in front of him. After trying to concentrate for several minutes, he decided to play some music to keep the ringing of his ears out of his mind. He popped in his headphones and quickly scrolled through the new hits playlist. He clicked on Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish. He decided he liked it because it was quiet and calming, perfect for concentrating. He put the song on repeat, sunk back into his chair, and zoned back into his book, not realizing he was singing the chorus almost silently. But it was just loud enough for one person to hear.

Jack had never heard this song. Not to say he didn’t like it, but it was a little different from the usual stuff he listened to or that his soulmate did either. He was looking it up as the bell rang, he decided he would just listen to it on his run. He felt like running by himself today anyways. Yesterday had been...too much for him. Him and Davey. Alone. He looked so beautiful on that bench. The sun hitting the curves and edges of his face, his hair falling into his beautiful eyes. Everything about him was just, beautiful. Jack laughed to himself, It was kind of ironic. Davey had the most beautiful ocean eyes. Every time he looked at him he melted. Jack sighed as he began his run, the song playing in his ears, and Davey’s eyes on his mind. After awhile, he began to sing along.

000

Davey looked for Jack before his run. He must have gotten out before he could catch him because he didn’t see him in the locker room. He sighed as he headed out on his own, he wanted to talk to Jack some more. While Jack made Davey a nervous wreck with his stunning smile, and brilliant eyes, Davey always felt amazing when he was with him. He could always make Davey laugh, and he felt like he could be himself around him. Well, mostly himself. He couldn’t exactly tell Jack that he was convinced he was in love with him. But everything else, he could put out there. 

His run was filled with silence at first. Just the sound of his shoes hitting the pavement, cars passing by, and his heavy breathing as he ran further than he had to. As he rounded a corner, the song began. He laughed as he realized what song they were singing. He must have been singing it in class and gotten it stuck in their head. He continued the run and just listened to the words filling his head. It was comforting, in a way.

000

Davey headed down the hallway towards the locker room. He had taken way too long on his run and now the building was empty. Everyone deciding they wanted to have an earlier start to their weekend. The same song was running through his mind as he went to open the door to the locker room. 

I'm scared  
I've never fallen from quite this high

He yanked open the door and stepped inside. He was startled by the sound of running water coming from the showers. But what really startled him was the singing that went along with it. More importantly what it was singing.

Falling into your ocean eyes  
Those ocean eyes

Davey’s mouth was hanging wide open in disbelief. Surely it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. His soulmate was singing, and they were singing from the shower about twenty feet away from him. The most important thing was, he thought he recognized the voice. But it couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible. 

Davey took a few steps closer to the shower in front of him, careful not to make a noise that would startle the person inside. When he was about two steps away, he took a deep breath and coughed.

The person singing stopped immediately paused. The water was hastily shut off and the rustling of a towel could be heard from the other side of the curtain. All of a sudden, the curtain was ripped open to reveal Jack, in just a towel around his waist.

Davey could feel his mouth go dry as he stared at the boy before him. Jack was startled to see him standing so close. 

“Oh- Hey Dave. Didn’t know anyone was in here. Kind of embarrassing. I - uh I don’t normally sing that kind of music. I actually never heard that song until today.” He continued to ramble awkwardly while Davey just stood and watched him. He finally stopped and looked back at Davey. “Was it so embarrassing that you’re speechless now Dave?” He joked to break the tension.

“Africa.” Davey said. It was barely louder than a whisper. Jack’s eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. 

“Wh-what.” Davey’s eyebrows furrowed. “Africa.” He said with more confidence that time. He stood up straighter and took a step closer to Jack. “When was the last time you sang that song Jackie?” Davey questioned him. His face was filled with intensity and Jack could feel his breath on his face due to their proximity. 

“I-I what are you on about Dave?” He asked, avoiding looking into Davey’s eyes. 

“When was the last time you sang the song Jack. Answer me.” Jack finally glanced at him and when he met his gaze, he melted.  
“Y-yesterday.” He stuttered out. “I was singing it during seventh period to annoy Race. He hates the intro-” With that, Davey grabbed the back of Jack’s neck and slammed their lips together. Jack froze, but as soon as he felt Davey’s hand in his hair, his immediately found Davey’s waist and pressed them as close together as he could. He was wet, and Davey was drenched in sweat, but he couldn’t have hoped for a better first kiss. Hands were everywhere, lips were on fire, and tongues were battling for dominance. Jack pushed Davey up against the wall of the shower and began to trail kisses down Davey’s neck. Davey was smiling like an idiot and breathing heavier than when he ran. 

“I can’t believe it’s you Jackie. You’re my soulmate. We’re soulmates!” Davey laughed as he exclaimed. 

“Yeah, I kinda figured that out when you attacked my face.” Jack said against Davey’s neck. Davey lightly smacked the back of Jack’s head. He sighed as Jack continued his path up towards his ear.

“Jack.” Davey said quietly. “Can I just tell you something?”

Jack halted his movements and faced the boy in front of him. “Anything Dave.” He said while brushing some hair out of Davey’s eyes.

“Well- it’s just. If I ever have to hear you sing that stupid song one more time, I'm going to remove your reproductive organ with a rusty spork.” The look on his face was so serious, Jack actually shuddered.

“Noted.” He said as confidently as he could. Davey laughed at him and brought him back into a kiss. 

So maybe Davey doesn’t live in a world where your soulmates name is on your arm or there’s a clock that ticks down to your first meeting. And sure, life sucks and isn’t fair. But as Davey laid in his bed that night, and he drifted away to the sound of Africa in the back of his mind. He knew he wouldn’t rather have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Leave comments and all that stuff. Come scream at me on tumblr @2-for-a-penny


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